First Hackintosh Build, need feedback. :)

[gggg13]

Hello,

My sister is building a hackintosh and I'm helping her, but we're not well-versed in computer knowledge. She needs the hackintosh for audio/music production. We planned this build using the parts list on this website.

Our planned build is:

CPU: i5-10600K 4.1GHz
CPU Cooler: Arctic Freezer 13
Motherboard: Asus Prime H470-Plus CSM
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16gb (2 x 8gb)
Storage: Samsung 860 EVO 1TB
GPU: Gigabyte Radeon RX 570 8gb
Case: Apevia Matrix
PSU: Rosewill Lepton 500 W 80+ Gold
Keyboard: Rosewill Neon K51W RGB

Budget: 1100~

Our concerns are that it needs to do well with audio/music production, the parts need to all work well together and be able to have the macOS installed (since that step can be hard), and last long if possible. Spending this much money is a big step for her so we want to plan well. Would this build work well? Please let us know.

 

[Jamesbond007]

Hello,

My sister is building a hackintosh and I'm helping her, but we're not well-versed in computer knowledge. She needs the hackintosh for audio/music production. We planned this build using the parts list on this website.

Our planned build is:

CPU: i5-10600K 4.1GHz
CPU Cooler: Arctic Freezer 13
Motherboard: Asus Prime H470-Plus CSM
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16gb (2 x 8gb)
Storage: Samsung 860 EVO 1TB
GPU: Gigabyte Radeon RX 570 8gb
Case: Apevia Matrix
PSU: Rosewill Lepton 500 W 80+ Gold
Keyboard: Rosewill Neon K51W RGB

Budget: 1100~

Our concerns are that it needs to do well with audio/music production, the parts need to all work well together and be able to have the macOS installed (since that step can be hard), and last long if possible. Spending this much money is a big step for her so we want to plan well. Would this build work well? Please let us know.

The build should be compatible with MacOS Catalina and Big Sur with OpenCore or Clover 5124 and later as bootloader.

You cannot use the tools available on this site as they are not yet compatible with Intel 10th generation hardware like your build.

 

[Gigamaxx]

Hello,

My sister is building a hackintosh and I'm helping her, but we're not well-versed in computer knowledge. She needs the hackintosh for audio/music production. We planned this build using the parts list on this website.

Our planned build is:

CPU: i5-10600K 4.1GHz
CPU Cooler: Arctic Freezer 13
Motherboard: Asus Prime H470-Plus CSM
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16gb (2 x 8gb)
Storage: Samsung 860 EVO 1TB
GPU: Gigabyte Radeon RX 570 8gb
Case: Apevia Matrix
PSU: Rosewill Lepton 500 W 80+ Gold
Keyboard: Rosewill Neon K51W RGB

Budget: 1100~

Our concerns are that it needs to do well with audio/music production, the parts need to all work well together and be able to have the macOS installed (since that step can be hard), and last long if possible. Spending this much money is a big step for her so we want to plan well. Would this build work well? Please let us know.

You might consider a slightly larger power supply.

A good general rule is to have some extra breathing room for a power supply.
If they run at near max capacity they tend to heat up more and and lose life time expectancy.

The RX 470 can run between 130-200 watts, the 10900k 115-140 watts, add in case fans, cpu cooler, hard drives any usb devices and you could be pushing 400+ watts which is 80% of capacity. This can be lowered to 60-70% by upgrading the PSU power supply, to a 600-650 watt unit.

The high end AMD cards that work in MacOS like the Radeon Vii, Vega 56/64, 5700xt etc... tend to require more wattage and in many cases a 750 watt PSU is recommendEd. The Navi2 cards the 6800xt and 6900xt and the soon to come 6700, 6600 etc. cards if they get support in Big Sur (most likely) are using less power and can run on 650 watt PSUs.

Even a 550 Watt would help a little and give you a little more buffer. It will also allow you to upgrade your graphics if find you want more performance later. If you dabble into video work the graphics card upgrade will help and you won’t need to get a new power supply.

Ram, is something to consider as a future upgrade as well. Audio work depends heavily on Ram speeds and quantity it’s like increasing bandwidth.

 

[gggg13]

The build should be compatible with MacOS Catalina and Big Sur with OpenCore or Clover 5123 and later as bootloader.

You cannot use the tools available on this site as they are not yet compatible with Intel 10th generation

You might consider a slightly larger power supply.

A good general rule is to have some extra breathing room for a power supply.
If they run at near max capacity they tend to heat up more and and lose life time expectancy.

The RX 470 can run between 130-200 watts, the 10900k 115-140 watts, add in case fans, cpu cooler, hard drives any usb devices and you could be pushing 400+ watts which is 80% of capacity. This can be lowered to 60-70% by upgrading the PSU power supply, to a 600-650 watt unit.

The high end AMD cards that work in MacOS like the Radeon Vii, Vega 56/64, 5700xt etc... tend to require more wattage and in many cases a 750 watt PSU is recommendEd. The Navi2 cards the 6800xt and 6900xt and the soon to come 6700, 6600 etc. cards if they get support in Big Sur (most likely) are using less power and can run on 650 watt PSUs.

Even a 550 Watt would help a little and give you a little more buffer. It will also allow you to upgrade your graphics if find you want more performance later. If you dabble into video work the graphics card upgrade will help and you won’t need to get a new power supply.

Ram, is something to consider as a future upgrade as well. Audio work depends heavily on Ram speeds and quantity it’s like increasing bandwidth.

I see, very good input. I'll go for a 600 watt psu and see how it does. And I'll observe and see if we should go higher. Yeah with the ram, I wanted to start at 16gb and see how well that goes too, but have enough slots (this motherboard has 4 but we'll be using 2) to add more.

I'll actually take another look at my own pc (windows) since i bought parts for that recently to see if i have enough comfortable wattage for that too! XD
Thank you.

 

[Anazlu]

My 2 cents:
8 core 16 thread should be a minimum. i7-10700 or better.
32 GB RAM minimum. 2 x 16 @ 3200+ speed.
5700 XT minimum or just go with internal graphics. External graphics card needed for music production?
I agree that a stronger PSU makes sense if using a GPU. 550 to 650 watts. 750+ if you ever think you'll be upgrading the GPU for playing AAA games @ 4K 60fps.

An i5 w/ an RX 570 & 16 GB RAM, you'd be much better off going with the M1 Mini w/ 16GB RAM, IMO. Especially if you're going to be running Logic Pro in Big Sur. It's fully compatible. Just make sure you've got a Big Sur/Apple Silicon compatible audio interface. Focusrite Gen 3 now works with the M1 (with an asterisk). Also, you don't need to spend a bunch upgrading internal storage. Thunderbolt & USB 3 means you can have very fast external storage. 256 to 512GB internal should be adequate.

Focusrite product compatibility with macOS 11 "Big Sur" on Apple Silicon-based systems

This article outlines compatibility information for Apple computers with Apple Silicon processors. For compatibility information regarding Apple computers with Intel processors please see this arti...

support.focusrite.com

Is Apple silicon ready for Music Production?

Is Apple silicon ready for Music Production?

isapplesiliconready.com

 

[gggg13]

My 2 cents:
8 core 16 thread should be a minimum. i7-10700 or better.
32 GB RAM minimum. 2 x 16 @ 3200+ speed.
5700 XT minimum or just go with internal graphics. External graphics card needed for music production?
I agree that a stronger PSU makes sense if using a GPU. 550 to 650 watts. 750+ if you ever think you'll be upgrading the GPU for playing AAA games @ 4K 60fps.

An i5 w/ an RX 570 & 16 GB RAM, you'd be much better off going with the M1 Mini w/ 16GB RAM, IMO. Especially if you're going to be running Logic Pro in Big Sur. It's fully compatible. Just make sure you've got a Big Sur/Apple Silicon compatible audio interface. Focusrite Gen 3 now works with the M1 (with an asterisk). Also, you don't need to spend a bunch upgrading internal storage. Thunderbolt & USB 3 means you can have very fast external storage. 256 to 512GB internal should be adequate.

Focusrite product compatibility with macOS 11 "Big Sur" on Apple Silicon-based systems

This article outlines compatibility information for Apple computers with Apple Silicon processors. For compatibility information regarding Apple computers with Intel processors please see this arti...

support.focusrite.com

Is Apple silicon ready for Music Production?

Is Apple silicon ready for Music Production?

isapplesiliconready.com

thanks for your feedback! ill definitely keep it to look back on. we decided to get a i7-10700 instead.
we were also going for a focusright gen 3 interface too (scarlet). we'll be going 32gb if we need to after observing how 16gb goes since she's just starting out with audio production. we already ordered the motherboard however, if that turns out to not work well, we'll probably go with your suggestion. your comment was very helpful and im assuming you have some experience with audio production and hackintoshes? anyway thank you!

 

[Anazlu]

That extra multi-core horsepower will be helpful down the road and hold its value longer.
16 GB to start works. Like you say, you can bump that up if you need to.
You're blazing a trail with that specific motherboard but all it really has to do is run MacOS. No reason why it shouldn't. You can workaround any other issues you might run into. Your audio interface will give you sound.
Congrats and good luck on the build!

 

[Bustycat]

I would recommend saving money on SSD for a Micron or WD one and spending more on a PSU. A Gigabyte or MSI motherboard would be cheaper than ASUS ones.

 

[etorix]

You could skip the "K" and save $50. According to this detailed test by Dr. Ian Cutress, the 65W CometLake parts run just as fast as their 125W "K" counterparts—and burn the same 200+ W under load!
I would imagine that the most important requirement for an audio/music PC is to run quiet, so maybe a 9th gen. CPU would serve you best by being easier to cool.